LONDON, July 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Would-be successors to scandal-ridden British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were readying Friday for what will be a prolonged battle, the day after an extraordinary exodus of Conservative ministers brought about their leader’s downfall.
Johnson resigned on Thursday as Tory leader, acknowledging that it was “clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party, and therefore a new prime minister”.
The leadership election is expected to take place over the coming months, and the victor will replace Johnson by the party’s annual conference in early October.
Defence minister Ben Wallace and Rishi Sunak — whose resignation as finance minister on Tuesday set off the chain of exits — were among the early frontrunners to take over, a YouGov survey of Tory members suggested.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, another potential contender, cut short a trip to Indonesia for a G20 meeting to fly back.
So far Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat is the only person to officially announce their campaign, though Attorney General Suella Braverman and Brexiteer Steve Baker have both signalled interest.
In Johnson’s unrepentant resignation speech on Thursday he said he would stay on until his successor is found.
But calls are building for him to leave immediately, and for an acting leader to head the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Polling suggested most Britons favour his rapid exit, as claims surfaced that Johnson is only hanging on to enjoy a wedding party with wife Carrie at his government-funded country retreat.
“Clinging on for one last party,” blared the leftwing tabloid Daily Mirror on Friday morning, adding a pointed jab referencing a Brexit slogan: “Leave means leave, Boris”.
But on the other side of the political spectrum, the Daily Mail’s front page asked “What the hell have they done?” — characterising Johnson as “cast out by a party in the grip of collective hysteria”.
Johnson’s tumultuous three years in office were defined by Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and non-stop controversy about his reputation for mendacity.
On Thursday, the 58-year-old said he was “sad… to be giving up the best job in the world”, justifying his refusal initially to surrender to his “herd” of Tory critics by claiming a personal mandate in the Brexit-dominated general election of December 2019. — NNN-AGENCIES
